


Hospital Visit

by snowandlilacs



Category: RWBY
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-30
Updated: 2018-06-30
Packaged: 2019-05-31 05:05:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,837
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15112388
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snowandlilacs/pseuds/snowandlilacs
Summary: Qrow gets himself stuck in the hospital.





	Hospital Visit

Heavy eyelids struggled to open, but the smell of latex gloves, bandages, and the hint of blood were enough to make Qrow grumble while he tried shifting against the stiff bed and thin blanket that did nothing to help keep the chill away. His attempts to pull himself up and out of the bed were met with a fussing nurse pushing him back down.

“Mr. Branwen, you need to rest.”

A growl came as he made an attempt to glare at the other, but he could not quite focus on them as his vision blurred and swam.

“Where am I?” he demanded.

“You are at Atlas Med—”

Rather than listen to the rest of the answer, Qrow muttered curses as he flopped back down on—what he considered to be—a pathetic excuse for a pillow. Of course he was stuck in a hospital, he knew that as he woke up, but an _Atlesian_ hospital was a whole other mess. Not that he had the energy to pitch a fit right now. The pain and exhaustion was enough to keep him from demanding to be released immediately. He was in no state to be wandering around. Even he could recognize that.

For now, however, he decided sleep was the only thing he could do. Sleep and regain his aura to let it take care of whatever injuries were keeping him there in the first place.

* * *

When he next woke, Qrow was more aware of his surroundings. It felt warmer in the room, and the thick curtains were pulled back, leaving only the sheers to slightly obscure the view. There was a slight haze against the buildings that surrounded the hospital. This time the nurse seemed to ignore him completely. Probably because he wasn’t making a fuss. 

“Hey.”

The attending nurse turned and gave him a look as if asking him what he wanted. They had a horrible bedside manner if he said so himself.

“Can I go now?”

The nurse rolled their eyes and shook their head. “No. You have to be cleared by the doctor before you are able to leave. First you will need to prove you can hold down food before that; otherwise, it will just be a waste of the doctor’s time. You huntsmen may heal faster than the general population, but you only will cause trouble if you collapse right outside the doors and need readmitted.”

It was worth a shot, but he didn’t enjoy the patronizing tone. 

“There’s also someone requesting to visit when you wake up. You have the right to allow or deny visitors, and if you choose to allow visitation, you are limited to only two visitors at one time during visitation hours.”

His first thought was that Jimmy was going to try seeing him to bitch about what a mess he made of the mission that—

“Who’s asking?”

“Specialist Winter Schnee.”

He stared blankly at the nurse as if that was the most ridiculous thing he ever heard, and in a way, it was. It wasn’t like he kept their relationship secret. She might not be the most talkative about it normally, but if she wanted to visit, couldn’t she just say something about it?

“We’re engaged.”

“That does not immediately allow Miss Schnee visitation. The hospital’s policy is immediate family only when a patient is unconscious but allowed visitation by the doctor. As she does not meet the requirement, she needs permission granted.”

“That is the biggest load of—”

“You still need to grant permission. It is for our patients’ privacy that this policy is in place, Mr. Branwen.”

Qrow growled at the nurse and moved to get up, only to wince at the pull at an injury it caused. Okay, so that wasn’t a good idea. 

“Yes, she’s allowed to visit,” he said, annoyed that he had to explicitly give permission.

The nurse gave a nod, and he frowned as they left. He didn’t know if Winter was there now, or how long he had been there in general. She might be working. That would be his luck. All because of some stupid policies that the hospital had in place. Or rather, policies that currently inconvenienced him.

By the time Winter arrived, Qrow already determined that he was going to die of boredom. Over an hour had passed, and the doctor already came and left, but he couldn’t claim to have actually listened to what they said. Something about resting, taking it easy, blathering on about Atlesian medicine and something or other. He really didn’t care.

“You look like a scolded child.”

He turned his attention toward Winter, his expression still showing his complete boredom while trapped in the hospital room. She was wearing casual clothes, so he assumed that she came from home or some other errand rather than work, but what caught his attention was the medical tape peaking out past her side bangs. 

“Isn’t that what happened? I’m not allowed to leave until the doctor clears me. But what about you?” he asked while lifting a hand to gesture at her head. 

Winter waved a hand dismissively, and he narrowed his eyes. An argument with her was not what he wanted, and clearly she was okay if she was walking around, but—

“Are you limping?”

She gave him a blank look and said nothing as she took a seat in the chair between the bed and the window. It was only a slight change in her movements that caught his attention, but when she walked with near perfect posture, it was easy to spot.

“How are you feeling? I wasn’t informed as to the full extent of your injuries, but what I saw before we got you here….”

“I’m fine, Winter. Don’t feel a thing.”

“That’s the painkillers.”

He couldn’t deny that she was right; though, he lied about not feeling anything. Some of his wounds still hurt, muscles still sore, and he didn’t want to think what they would feel like without the painkillers.

“You never answered me, Ice Queen. How are you holdin’ up?” Winter looked less than impressed at his nickname for her, but he was amused. There was little reason for her to complain about him needing his rest if he was joking around. 

“A small contusion and cut on my head, a sprained ankle, and moderate bruising. In comparison, I’m in much better condition than you are.”

“I’m the living embodiment of a perfect specimen.”

Winter rolled her eyes. “A perfect specimen of a huntsman in over his head. What were you thinking? Rushing in there like that...you could have been killed. It was not your place, nor your job to even be there.”

Qrow narrowed his eyes at her again. Was she being serious right now? 

“This is the thanks I get for saving you and the other soldiers with you?”

Winter immediately stood up to argue, only to wince and sit back down when her ankle reminded her why that was a bad idea. 

“There is a reason why you were not assigned that mission, Qrow. To assign a couple on the same mission makes them both a liability, as you demonstrated perfectly.”

“Is that another one of Atlas’ stupid rules? Like how you couldn’t even visit without my permission despite this?” he asked while holding up his left hand and pointing out the engagement ring. “In Vale a couple can work together and are expected to _protect_ each other. Which was what I was doing.”

A frustrated sigh came from Winter, and Qrow knew he was getting on her nerves with this conversation, but it was stupid. When he heard about the mission, he had no intention of just sitting by and waiting to see if she would make it back. He would rather go and make sure. If his help wasn’t needed, then he would stay back—at least that was what he told himself—but they were surrounded and he wasn’t going to leave things up to chance.

“And you got yourself stuck in a hospital for your effort.”

He could tell that she was angry with him, her temper was notoriously bad, but she was biting her lip as if trying to piece together a logical statement rather than storming out. 

“Do you even think? You come barreling in on a mission that was not yours, without all of the details, all for the excuse of playing protector, but you don’t understand, do you? You don’t want to see me injured, but don’t you think that is the same the other way around?”

Okay, she had a point, but that didn’t mean he liked it.

“If I had done what you did, how would you feel if the situation was reversed? How would you feel if I was the one in the hospital bed, hooked up to an IV of painkillers just to be able to tolerate being awake? How would you feel—”

“Winter!” 

He had to cut her off. She was rambling and getting emotional, and if there was one thing he learned from being in a relationship with her was that while her temper was volatile, when she got emotional it was hard for her to manage. Qrow suspected it was from a lack of adapting to proper feelings growing up in the house she did, and it broke his heart to see her struggle to collect herself from a panic of trying to handle these situations. Normally he would let her ride out the emotional whirlwind, to help expose her to dealing with her emotions, but he wasn’t going to change his mind on the matter. It would only waste their time.

“I get it, okay? You made your point. I’m sorry. Sort of.” 

_“Sort of?”_

“Yeah,” he said with a grin. “ _Sort of_. Because I get your point, I really do, but I won’t regret making sure you are okay. You could have come out worse than with minor injuries if I hadn’t interfered, and I won’t apologize for that.”

Winter huffed and crossed her arms, turning her attention in the opposite direction of him. He couldn’t blame her, not when she was nearly in an emotional panic moments before. 

“Winter...Ice Queen, come on, look here.”

He held out his hand and hoped she would take it. Regardless of trying to help the situation, Winter was distressed, and that was clearly his fault. Time to make amends.

“I’ll hold my arm out like this until it goes numb if you don’t take it.”

She rolled her eyes again, but he expected that much. Luckily, however, it seemed she pitied him and took his hand. 

“I won’t interfere on your work anymore if I’m not supposed to be there. Deal?”

Her expression showed that she didn’t entirely believe him, which was fair. While he would certainly try to keep his word, there was no absolute guarantee that he wouldn’t go back on his word if the situation called for it.

At least he was trying.

“...deal.”


End file.
